Punch’s Cousin, Chapter 457

“Who dat?” A man next to Gamilla whispered as Odo approached. “He done made dat little girl cry.” He pointed to Columbia.

“He’s someone we hoped to get way from.” Gamilla answered.

The man rose to his feet and waved to his companions—a group of six, large, muscled African men. They, too, stood—in unison and stood in front of Marjani, Gamilla and Columbia.

Odo’s eyes widened.

“What you want, little man?” The leader of the group bellowed at Odo.

“I got business wit’ these women.” Odo answered, clearly shaken.

The large man looked over his shoulder. “He got business wit’ you, Miss?” He asked Gamilla.

“No.” Gamilla replied firmly.

“Lady says ‘no.’” The man growled.

Odo took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. “This don’t concern you, Friend.”

“My name’s Pete,” The man smiled, “and I think it do. What’s more, I ain’t your friend. These are my friends.” He pointed to the men on either side of him who formed a wall in front of Marjani, Columbia and Gamilla. “And, my friends think this concerns me, too.”

“Jus’ let me by,” Odo whimpered.

“Should we let him pass, boys?” Pete grinned.

“Nah,” his friends answered in unison.

“Dey say ‘no’ and the ladies say ‘no.’ So, I’m guessin’ that the answer is ‘no.’”

“I got a message for ‘em from an important lady.” Odo trembled.

“That so?” Pete asked.

“From Marie Laveau.” Odo continued.

Marjani began to shake. Pete could sense her discomfort.

“You wanna tell me what it is?” Pete asked. “I’ll tell the ladies.”

“I don’t wanna talk to you.” Odo replied.

“You’re gonna.” Pete laughed.

“Jus’ let me pass,” Odo pleaded.

“Go on and try.” Pete smirked.

Odo rushed forward. With one hand, Pete stopped him by wrapping his giant fingers around Odo’s little face, knocking him backward.

Odo squealed.

“Wanna try ‘gain?” Pete guffawed.

Odo scampered out of the large cabin and into the ship’s corridor, breathing heavily as he raced to the stairs.

“Thank you, Pete.” Marjani replied.

“You’re a nice man,” Columbia smiled, wrapping her little arms around Pete’s legs.

“Aw.” Pete stuttered. “Ain’t she a nice little thing?” He smiled at Marjani and Columbia. “What you two nice ladies wanna go get wrapped up wit’ a woman like Marie Laveau for?”

“She got a quarrel with the men we work for.” Gamilla replied.

“That ain’t good.” Pete said. “Is it, boys?”

His friends shook their heads.

“If Odo—that’s his name,” Marjani began, “is here, that means them others is, too. I got a feelin’ our folk is in trouble.”

“You like these folk?” Pete asked.

“Very much.” Marjani nodded. “Best white folk I ever met.”

“For true,” Gamilla agreed.

“Uncle Punch?” Columbia chirped. “Is that man gonna hurt Uncle Punch?”

“You call a white man, ‘Uncle?’” Pete tilted his head at Columbia.

“Sure.” Columbia nodded. “He’s a nice man and plays games with me. He got a dog and a puppet and he sings me songs.”

“Dat true?” Pete asked.

“It is.” Marjani nodded.

“A white man takes time to play with this girl and treat her nice?”

“Yes.” Marjani smiled. “He’s a very generous man. A nobleman from England, but kind and gentle and sweet. They all are. There’s a doctor. He’s a fine man. And, the doctor’s brother and brother’s wife. She treats us like we’re equal. They got babies. Two of ‘em. And there’s two servant men—white men, one from England, one from Italy. All good souls.”

“Gerard—he’s the doctor’s man. He’s…” Gamilla started.

“You like this fella special?” Pete winked.

“Maybe.” Gamilla looked at her shoes.

“Well, then,” Pete nodded. “We can’t let no bad folk bother your friends. Can we, boys?”

Pete’s comrades shook their heads.

“You gonna help us?” Columbia asked.

“We sure are, little woman.” Pete grinned. “We sure are.”



Did you miss Chapters 1-456? If so, you can read them here.

Valentine of the Day: Your Carte de Visite, 1870

Your Carte de Visite
Comic Valentine Greeting Card, c. 1870, English
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The carte de visite was a type of small photograph which was first developed by Louis Dodero, but was patented in Paris, France by the famed photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854. Each photograph was the size of a calling card, and such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors. These popular items gave rise to the publication and collection of photographs of celebrities and prominent people. Special albums for the collecting of these cards were produced and could be found in almost any Victorian parlor. By the 1870s, cartes de visite were replaced in popularity by larger cabinet cards.

This Valentine which dates to about 1870 is entitled "Your Carte de Visite." It features an image of a scruffy, terrier which, frankly, I initially mistook as a lion. However, having lived with a terrier for many years, I can tell you, that they exhibit lion-like tendencies, so the mistake is a natural one.

One of two almost identical cards stored at the V&A, this is the work of an unknown artist and publisher.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Sicilian Lion Ring, 1100-1200

Gold Ring
Sicily, 1100-1200
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Large in size, this ancient ring was made for a man with a motif of a lion passant (a lion in profile facing to the right), a theme which was often used in heraldry. In this case, the lion symbol may possibly indicate a particular family's arms, but is most likely purely decorative.

This gold ring is cast and chased with shaped shoulders decorated with an interlace pattern. The flat rectangular bezel into which the lion is set is decorated with incising. It was made in Sicily between 1100 and 1200.

During this era (as now), rings were often exchanged as gifts, or bequeathed to friends and relatives. If a ring did not fit the new owner, the custom was to wear it on a ribbon around the neck, or secured to the finger by a ribbon tied around the wrist.

Mastery of Design: The Townshend Red Spinel, 1840

Red Spinel in an exceptional mount of gold and European-cut diamonds, 1840.
Part of the Townshend Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

I like natural spinels. They’re rather difficult to come by, but when you finally see when, you’re immediately struck by the beautiful fire they exhibit and the wide range of colors (or lack thereof) in which they come. Red spinels were once known as “balas rubies,” “spinel rubies” and then “ruby spinels,” and they have been frequently linked with or confused with rubies despite their substantially different chemical makeup.

This ring, set with a fine red spinel framed by a border of European-cut diamonds in a gold mount, forms part of the celebrated collection of 154 gems bequeathed to the V&A by the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend, a cleric and poet. The ring was made c. 1840 purely for the purpose of displaying this exceptional stone.

Unusual Artifacts: Pyramus and Thisbe Valance, 1560

Pyramus and Thisbe
Panel from a Bed Valance, 1560
French, possibly made for Queen Catherine De Medici
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This piece of satin textile is one of a set of panels that once formed part of the decoration of a bed valance—a kind of pelmet round the top of bed curtains. The image is embroidered in colored silk on a red satin ground and depicts the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Pyramus, thinking that Thisbe was dead, committed suicide by falling on his own sword. This scene is shown within a frame held by men in stylized Roman military dress.

Other decorative motifs pictured include a laughing mask, birds, dolphins, ox skulls, an altar, a vase and draperies and figures of nudes and monsters in the Grotesque style which had been introduced to France between 1550 and 1575, based on Italian artifacts. Given the style, it is possible that this panel may have been part of a set made for Queen Catherine de Medici (1519–89, daughter of the Italian Lorenzo de Medici, later Queen Consort of France), or for another high-ranking member of the French court. Further evidence comes from the fact that in the Nineteenth Century, this fragment was bound in an album inscribed “RICAMI DEI MEDICI.” (‘embroideries of the Medici’). A gold braid was added in the Nineteenth Century.

The Art of Play: Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), 1900

The Prince Consort's Own, 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This set of toy soldiers depicting The Rifle Brigain (known as the Prince Consort’s Own) was made by the manufacturer “Britains” which began making such sets of soldiers in 1883 and are credited with having invented the hollow casting process for manufacturing them. The Britain family became the leading toy soldier maker because of their championing of this hollow-casting process, trumping the already established imports from Germany which had previously dominated the toy soldier market.

Here, we see a set by Britains from 1900 of eight painted soldiers in black uniform, seven of whom are holding rifles. The set features its original red cardboard box base and lid with yellow printed paper label. The lid lists the battles in which the Rifle Brigade fought - Copenhagen, Orthes, Monte Video, Toulouse, Roleia, Peninsula, Vimiera, Waterloo, Corunna, South Africa 1846-7; 1851, Busaco, Alma, Barrosa, Inkerman, Fuentes d’Onor, Sevastopol, Cundad Rodrigo, Lucknow, Badojoz, Ashantee, Salamanaca, Ali Masjid, Vittoria, Afghanistan 1878-9, Nivelle,Burma 1885-87, Nive, Khartoum.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Cavalry Snuffbox, 1750

Meissen Snuffbox, 1750
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

During the Seven Years War (1756-63), scenes of cavalry skirmishes were quite fashionable as decoration on a variety of objects. Take, for example, the scenes on the cover, sides and base of this c. 1750 snuffbox which are based on paintings of battles by Georg Philipp Rugendas (1666-1742).

Instead of a battle scene, the image inside the lid of this box depicts soldiers at rest--drinking, smoking and playing cards.

This rare piece is an example of a porcelain snuffbox, few of which remain in good condition. Snuffboxes made out of porcelain followed the shapes of those made in gold and hardstones. The largest producer of such boxes was Meissen in Germany, which manufactured the majority of these about 1735-65.